GUN FALL 2015
The live portion of this session begins on Monday, October 5, 2015.
EXTRAORDINARILY FINE SPECIAL ORDER MARLIN MODEL 1881 LEVER ACTION RIFLE.MARLIN1881952045-70IVORYCal. 45 Gov’t (45-70). Standard grade special order rifle with scarce 24″ oct bbl, full magazine, "certifiable antique ivory" bead hunting front sight, 1,000 yard ladder rear sight & a Lyman combination tang sight. Mounted with beautiful slab sawed, uncheckered American walnut with straight stock & Marlin crescent buttplate. It has standard heavy receiver. Left side of top & bottom tangs are stamped with the matching SN, which number is also found on left front face of the buttstock and inside buttplate. According to Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms there were approx. 20,000 Model 1881 Marlins produced in the period 1881-1892, of which 2,788 were in 24″ bbl length and only 4,769 were in 45 caliber. Extrapolating the figures based on Flayderman’s numbers above results in a figure of 668 rifles in this caliber and exact configuration making this an extremely rare Marlin. The model 1881 Marlin was the world''s first lever action repeating rifle to be chambered for the heavier, high velocity cartridges prized by the American frontiersmen and hunters all over the world. The model 1881 was a solid, reliable & accurate rifle and was instantly adopted by the pioneers in the Westward expansion of Manifest Destiny and usually saw extensive hard service under extreme conditions often with little or no maintenance and are rarely found today with any orig finish. PROVENANCE: Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus, all matching. Overall retains about 99% crisp orig finish with bright blue & brilliant case colors, including those on the forend cap & buttplate; bbl has faint sharp edge wear with a few very light scratches on receiver; outer faces of lever are lightly faded; wood is sound with a few light handling & storage, very minor nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its crisp orig factory finish; the tang stock screw is slightly battered. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore, probably unfired, bolt face retains virtually all of its orig factory finish. 49450-18 JR (15,000-20,000)